No gym membership? No problem! The Oval on the Halifax Common is paved during the summer months and doubles as a perfect track for sprints.

If you’ve read my post describing my three fitness pilars, you’ll already know how I feel about sprints. As gruelling as they are effective and efficient, one of my favourite things about sprinting is that it can help you burst through plateaus no matter your fitness level; sprints never get easier, you just get faster!

While this workout is simple and pretty short, it’s a KILLER and engages your full body. If you’re sprinting full out, which you should be, you’ll be sore the next day all over – calves, quads, hamstrings, glutes, adductors, abs, even back and arms.

I tried this workout on the paved Oval in the Halifax Commons, but any track (or stretch of open, flat surface, really) would work. Bear in mind the Oval is 400m around.

Warm Up

3 laps slow, easy, bouncy jog

Sprints

For the straight length of the oval or track, run as fast as you can (without hurting yourself!) until you get to the curve.

For the curve of the oval/track, walk slowly to recover (as slowly as you need until you can exert maximum energy again next time)

Once you reach the straight length of the oval/track, sprint again

Repeat this cycle until you’ve done a total of 10 sprints (5 total laps of the Oval / 400m track)

Halifax Bonus

Walk over to Citadel Hill and run as fast as you can up the paved part of the hill

Recover with a lap of slow, leisurely walking (and lots of deep breathing!) around the top of the hill (the view + your endorphins = mood boosting superpowers)

Make It A Challenge!

To fully utilize the power of sprints to burst through plateaus, it’s important to continue to challenge yourself. A great way to do this is to time how long it takes you to complete the 10 laps, sprint and rest included, and work at beating your best time.